Aphrodite Salas

Assistant Professor, Journalism

Biography    Research activities    Teaching Activities    Selected Presentations   

Biography

Aphrodite Salas is a visual journalist who has worked across Canada and around the world. She began teaching at Concordia in the department of Political Science and is now an Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism. Aphrodite is a research associate at the Concordia University Acts of Listening Lab and a member of the national board of directors of the Canadian International Council. Her experience as a journalist is extensive. Aphrodite was a video journalist and assignment editor at CTV Montreal, senior anchor at Global Quebec and hosted her own current affairs radio program on 940 Montreal.  As a national correspondent, Aphrodite covered Parliament Hill in Ottawa for CityTV's Toronto and Vancouver stations. She was also a national correspondent for CTV News in Montreal, and was the network's transportation reporter in Toronto. As an anchor, Aphrodite has been on the desks of CTV Newschannel, CityTV's CP24, CKCO Kitchener and CFQC Saskatoon. Aphrodite started her visual journalism career producing short documentaries at the Reuters East Africa bureau in Nairobi, Kenya. She has also worked in India, England, the United States and sailed around the Pacific Ocean as part of an initiative of the Government of Japan. Her industry honours include four RTDNA awards for excellence in news reporting. Aphrodite holds an Honours BA from the University of Toronto and an MA in Public Policy and Public Administration from Concordia. 

My research areas focus on the role journalism schools can play in reconciliation, new models of journalism, visual journalism, mobile journalism and interviewing techniques. Over the past two years, my research-creation projects have been based in Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek-Gull Bay First Nation, and have involved a team of students working collaboratively to document and share stories of Indigenous leadership and climate action. The research questions and methodology of my work are outlined more extensively in this article in Policy Options: "What role can journalism schools play in reconciliation?" I am currently working on a series of new multimedia projects in collaboration with three northern Indigenous communities, with the support of the Social Sciences Humanities Research Council of Canada. 

Fall 2020
JOUR 536 - Advanced Video Journalism
JOUR 207 - Introduction to Multimedia Journalism (video modules, all three undergraduate sections)

Winter 2021
JOUR 209 - Intermediate Multimedia (two undergraduate sections)

Previous Courses
JOUR 527 - Elements of Lighting for Visual Journalism
JOUR 511 - Introduction to Multimedia
JOUR 325 - Social Media & Mobile Reporting
JOUR 207 - Introduction to Multimedia Journalism (photo)
JOUR 200 - Introduction to Broadcast Journalism

Political Science
POLI 368 - Media, Technology and Politics
POLI 498 - Advanced Topics: Media and Public Policy

Academic Conferences

Salas, A. (August 2020). "How the U.S. Presidential Election is Framed Around the World." Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications Conference, Virtual Event. 

Salas, A. (April 2020). "Documenting Indigenous Clean Energy Initiatives Through Mobile Journalism: A Case Study in Canada's North." Broadcast Education Association Conference, virtual event. Panel title: "Media, Culture and Community: Enabling Voices on the Margins."

Salas, A. (February 2020). "How Can Canadian News Organizations Better Engage with and Serve Indigenous Audiences?" Institute for Investigative Journalism, Montreal.

Salas, A. (August 2019). "How the U.S. Looks to the World in the Age of Trump." Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Toronto.

Salas, A. (June 2019). "An Experiential Study on Teaching Remote Mobile Journalism (MOJO). Canadian Communication Association Conference, Vancouver. 

Salas, A. (July 2019). "Mobile Journalism: A Case Study in Northern Canada." 5th World Journalism Education Congress, Paris, France.  

Screenings

Salas, A. (February 2020). Womens' Canadian Club of Montreal. "Behind the Scenes of "from shore to sky: a reconciliation story" with documentary producer Aphrodite Salas. Public lecture and screening. Westmount, Quebec.

Salas, A. (November 2019). Banff Forum Policy Conference. Screening of "from shore to sky: a reconciliation story" to an audience of approximately 250 Canadian policy makers and experts. Mont Tremblant, Quebec.

Salas, A. (November 2019). Department of Communication, University of Ottawa. "Canadian Media and Reconciliation: A Snapshot of Current Realities." Guest lecture and screening. Ottawa, Ontario.

Salas, A. (September 2019). Concordia University Department of Journalism. "Covering Climate Now: a Panel with Leading Reporters." Screening of "from shore to sky: a reconciliation story."  

Film Festivals

• Through My Eyes Indigenous Film Festival, official selection (March 2020).
• West Side Mountain Documentary Film Festival, official selection & semi-finalist (August 2020).